A new study, which analyzed 10,000 websites, titled “Does Making Your Site Accessible Help It Rank Higher? (A 2025 SEO Study)” was recently published by AccessibilityChecker.Org, in partnership with SEMrush. The study’s main conclusion is that accessible websites rank better, and found that following WCAG guidelines can boost organic search performance.
Web accessibility compliance score is increased SEO scores with more organic keywords, higher organic traffic, and a stronger domain authority score. Alternatively, non-compliant websites are linked to having poor performance with decreased organic keywords, traffic, or authority:
Danny Trichter, Co-Founder of AccessibilityChecker.org, shared, ‘Our 2025 study clearly shows that investing in accessibility isn’t just about ethics, it’s smart business. Sites that score better on accessibility also perform stronger in organic search. The result is more visibility, traffic, and authority.’
The study was used to determine whether accessibility features such as alt text, keyboard navigation, sufficient contrast ratios, and semantic HTML, can result in improved SEO outcomes:
In this study, we break down the data, highlight key trends, and unpack what it all means for marketers, developers, and business owners aiming to create both inclusive and high-performing websites.
Five main key findings were determined by the study:
- Over 70% of websites analyzed were not following the latest WCAG guidelines
- Organic traffic rose by an average of 23% as a site’s compliance score increased
- Websites ranked for an average of 27% more organic keywords with a higher accessibility score
- There was a 19% variation in a site’s Authority Score when its accessibility compliance score was higher.
- Websites in the business, technology, and entertainment sectors were the least compliant
- Websites in the sports, finance, science, real estate, and food and beverage sectors had the highest number of compliant websites but also had a high number of non-compliant websites
To improve a website’s accessibility score the following guides and website checkers are recommended:
Guide to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Guide to ADA Compliance
Check a website through the Free Web Accessibility Checker
Check the color contrast of a website using the free Color Contrast Checker
Source: AccessibilityChecker.org
